


Fumble

by Rin_the_Shadow



Series: To Turn Spark [11]
Category: Transformers (Unicron Trilogy), Transformers: Armada
Genre: Allusions to PTSD, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Attacks, But also, For Want of a Nail, Friendship, Gen, In Spite of a Nail, Jetfire is a good bro, Manipulation, Misunderstandings, Optimus is a good leader, Red Alert is a good bro, adjusting to Autobot life, canon typical fantasy violence, celebration, cw: emotional manipulation, cw: rationalization and manipulation of past abuse, gift-giving, hot shot is a good bro, reckless and unthought rescue attempts, robot-human friendships, some alternate character interpretation, strategic chess, the "crack" episode, transformers: the foot in the mouth chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 07:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17096489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rin_the_Shadow/pseuds/Rin_the_Shadow
Summary: Progress is one of those funny things. Some days, it seems like things are going pretty well. Other times, it's like they've never left square one. As tensions rise in Autobot HQ, the 'bots ponder the question: can a Decepticon work with Autobot ideals, or is it all just a failed experiment waiting to blow?





	1. Chapter 1

_“I don’t see why I should trust you. You’ve betrayed Autobot and Decepticon alike.” There was really no reason to keep meeting like this._

_“And yet…I’m the one who gave you the idea for combining the weapons.” An idea which I was the one to piece together, the tactician thought._

_“Well, concessions must be made. Nonetheless, do I have your word? All three weapons will be in Megatron’s hands by sundown?”_

_“Now, Thrust, you’re not an idiot. Do you really think my word means anything?” He had a point. Oh, he knew what a dangerous game he was playing. Still, he could play to win. All he had to do was secure a convenient alliance, just long enough to be useful to him._

_He sneered beneath his mask. “And how much more do you think mine is worth?”_

* * *

 

“All right, everyone! Keep going, look alive, all that good stuff! We got a war to win here!” Jetfire cheerfully called out as he surveyed the Autobots at work reconstructing the _Axalon_. “This old beauty ain’t gonna fix herself!”

Hot Shot glared at him, obviously fighting a grin. “Hey, we’re already strippin’ our paint over it. You want it any faster, you can help out yourself!”

“Hey, _someone’s_ gotta supervise and get the big picture,” Jetfire shot back. As he walked down to see how the rest was going, he glanced up to see Starscream working on…standing and staring at everyone.

Jetfire sighed. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. Slag, maybe all the logging work had fried his processor. Wasn’t like that stuff didn’t make Jetfire want to scream after a bit. “Hey, Starscream!” he called up. “You lock your processor?” That wasn’t really fair. Maybe he’d just never done work on a spaceship before.

“Hm?” he shot back. “I thought I was supervising—the same as _you_.”

That pulled a snicker from a few of the others. Jetfire wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. On one hand, he’d learned since the Mars mission that sometimes the guy just joked like that—shocking as it was that he joked _at all_. But on the flip side, there were still a lot of times he meant things every bit as harsh as they came out. “Well, hop on down and help Sideswipe! Kid needs your hands more than your supervision!”

Sideswipe shot him a distinctly annoyed look. But it wasn’t like Starscream would buy it if he’d thrown anyone else into the launchbay.

To his surprise, the seeker hopped down from his position at the entryway. But all hope he’d had that he would actually help quickly evaporated when he stood up and looked Jetfire straight in the optics. “This is a waste of time! It’s not like you’re going back to Cybertron anytime soon, so why aren’t we launching an all-out attack against the Decepticons instead of this—” He fumbled for a word. “—this _mindless exercise_.”

Ah, slag, not this again. Jetfire reminded himself to use what he’d learned before instead of snapping back. “Hey, we gotta plan for later, right? Besides that, we’re not the aggressors here. Our mission is to protect the Mini-Cons first.” As the seeker’s expression tightened, Jetfire pressed his tone. “ _Right_?”

“At this rate, you’ll never defeat Megatron,” he growled. “And _that’s_ why I joined you Autobots. The Mini-Cons mean nothing to me.”

“Don’t give me that scrap!” Jetfire snapped. Dear Primus, how did he always manage to make this worse? “You wanna remind me what you said on Mars? Can you look me right in the eyes and tell me you didn’t mean—”

“Oh, _right_ , anything _else_ you want to go dredging—” Starscream started over him.

“Hey! Take it easy, Jetfire!” He almost jumped as Hot Shot pushed between them. “And that goes for you too, Starscream! Both of you just cool your jets!”

To the shuttle’s surprise, Starscream stopped. Huh. Now that he thought about it, something like this went down before Mars, too. When did that start happening? But before he could ask, the seeker huffed and stalked away.

“Hey, wait a minute! I didn’t mean—” Hot Shot started to call after him. _You don’t have to leave over it._ He groaned in frustration.

They heard a grunt behind them. “Typical Decepticon,” Blurr muttered.

“Yeah, I know,” Sideswipe nodded.

Hot Shot grimaced, turning to say something back. But then there was a sharp call from where Red Alert was working, and everyone turned to face him.

“We’ve got a job to do. If you’ve got time to be worrying about everyone else’s stations, you’ve got more than enough time to worry about your own.”

Yeesh, even Jetfire had to wince at the harshness of his tone. “Sorry, Red Alert. Just…you know…” He gestured in the direction Starscream had retreated in.

“What about Starscream?” Blurr cut in. “Or are the rules different for Decepticon traitors?”

Slag, Jetfire did _not_ want to be on the receiving end of the look their medic shot him. “Get back to your stations, men,” he spoke in a low, warning tone.

Blurr shook his head, grabbing a welding-torch and stalking back towards his workstation.

Red Alert sighed as he turned back to his own work. Jetfire joined him shortly after. Maybe he _had_ been doing a bit too much supervising. At least the work would take his mind off of things, and if the medic decided to clue him in as to what was going on, well, he certainly wouldn’t complain.

* * *

Optimus Prime arrived shortly after, calling Hot Shot aside for a report. He’d relayed their progress from that morning, but he guessed Optimus picked up on something.

“Is something the matter?” he asked.

Hot Shot thought about what happened. That kind of thing was really more Red Alert’s area to report, wasn’t it? Or Jetfire’s, in cases like these. Scrap, how come he always ended up reporting these things even when it wasn’t him who picked the fight? But he told Optimus just the same.

“I see.” There was a note of weariness in Optimus’s tone. He guessed maybe this kind of thing should have stopped happening by now. “In any event, you _were_ able to diffuse it in the end.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Hot Shot started. He really hated to be the one to say this, but… “Optimus?” he asked.

“What is it?”

“It’s just…is it really going to be possible for this to work out? It’s not like we haven’t been trying, but…” He thought back to that day in front of the training room. What had gone wrong since then?

They had been over this so many times before. Not in these exact words, but enough that Hot Shot knew what was coming. “I understand it can be difficult. That’s why the first step we’ve had to take with Starscream is to try to understand our differences, so then we’ll be able to come to a mutual agreement on how to best work together.”

Part of him wondered if Starscream got these same talks. “Right…” _You keep saying that, but…_

Optimus could tell he wasn’t convinced. “Hot Shot,” he tried a different tactic. “Can you picture the situation that happened this morning?”

What? Why would he ask that? Hot Shot tilted his head slightly, but it was better to go along than not. “Yeah, it was just like five minutes ago.”

“Of course,” he chuckled softly. “Now, can you picture that same situation happening a month ago? How would it have ended then?”

 _Probably not that differently_ , he was tempted to respond. But then he thought about it. “Starscream and Blurr would have fought. Starscream would have shouted more at Jetfire.” Well, more likely he would have left as soon as Jetfire showed up. “Probably I would have yelled at Starscream, too. Maybe we would have fought. Scavenger and Red Alert would have had to break us up.” Red Alert would not have been happy about having to redo parts of construction, since he’d probably drop a tool while rushing over.

Optimus nodded his approval. “I think sometimes we all get fixated on where we want things to be, and we lose sight of how far we’ve already come. It’s something I’ve been trying to remind myself, as well.”

“Huh.” In some ways, it was nice to see it was just as hard for Optimus as them, and he had to appreciate his letting him see that. Maybe things weren’t so slagged out after all. “Thanks, Optimus.” He turned to head back to the unfinished _Axalon_. “I guess I’d better get back to work.”

He didn’t miss the smile in his tone. “I guess you’d better.”

* * *

 

_“You know, Thrust, I’ve given you a lot of leeway thus far." More than for almost any of his troops, especially considering... "But I really don’t appreciate being kept in the dark about what my men are planning.”_

_“I assure you, Lord Megatron,” the tactician said with a sweeping bow, “everything will come to light shortly. But for now, everything hinges on the element of surprise. Each of your men must know just enough to complete the task—and not enough to let any Autobots catch wind of it.”_

_The warlord scowled, and Thrust knew he wasn’t convinced. “Very well, Thrust. You know what I expect. And what will happen should you fail me again."_

_“Of course, Lord Megatron…”_

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, guys, keep it down!” Alexis shushed the others from their hiding spot in the back hallway. It really would have been better to use Starscream’s room for this, but there were two problems with that. The first was that she didn’t have access unless he or someone like Red Alert opened it for her. The second was that she was pretty sure he wouldn’t take it well if they all snuck into his room without asking—and asking would ruin the surprise.

Fred and Billy laughed sheepishly. “Heh, sorry Alexis,” they answered.

She felt Rad’s hand over her shoulder, a brief reassurance that everything would work out. Not that she was nervous or anything.

They heard the clanking of footsteps coming up the hallway. Carlos gripped the string of his confetti popper. As the footsteps came closer, a part of her worried that it would be someone else. But Jetfire would still be wrapping up from work earlier, right? It had to be Starscream, since he wasn’t the project leader and wouldn’t have to fill out a report, right?

But then a red and black hand reached for the lighting panel, and her shoulders dropped with relief. A second later, the lights clicked on.

“SURPRISE!” she chirped out along with the others.

Starscream nearly flinched at the sound of the confetti poppers going off. “ _What’s going on?_ ” he demanded, starting to move to a defensive position.

In hindsight, that hadn’t been the best idea. Sudden noises for someone who was used to expecting an ambush? Probably not a smart thing to do.

But the others continued the way they’d practiced. “Thanks a lot for the present, Starscream!”

Alarm dissolved into confusion as he struggled to process their response. “I…don’t think I follow you.”

Rad stepped in and took the lead. “Thanks for the rock you brought back from Mars.”

“Yeah!” Carlos chipped in. “We never really got to say thanks, big guy.”

“And Alexis had this idea to throw you, like, a little appreciation party,” Billy added. Alexis started to whip around. He wasn’t supposed to word it like that.

“But not the kind with cake,” Fred sounded disappointed, even though he saidhe understood before. “’Cause we didn’t know if…” he trailed off.

Alexis inhaled, then exhaled. “So we made this for you.” She pulled the cloth out from behind her, not that she’d been that good of a hiding place to begin with, and held it up.

Starscream stared for a moment before reaching to take it from her. She’d tried to bunch it up to make it easier for him, but she didn’t miss the way he adjusted his optics to reach for it, like he was afraid of breaking her if he wasn’t careful, even with just two fingers. She smiled in reassurance. She knew he wouldn’t.

He turned it over a few times, before cautiously unfolding it and holding it up, studying it from the new angle. He hesitated before finally giving in and asking, “So…what is it?”

Alexis grinned. “It’s a hand-made polishing chamois!” It had taken a long time to decide what he might like, even with Rad, Carlos, and the others helping her. “You can use it to polish anything—like Runway or the Star Saber or…” she realized she was rambling and cut herself off.

This kind of thing had made the most sense, right? He seemed to like things that were useful—based on the comments he made about things. He liked swordsmanship—he was always practicing. And he liked the Mini-Cons, so maybe he’d be more likely to use it if he could share it with them.

Apparently, Starscream wasn’t so sure. He glanced quizzically at the Mini-Cons, then back at the kids. “…Right…”

“Even us guys helped to put it together!” Carlos added, not that Starscream would understand why that was a big deal.

“Yup,” Rad laughed. “We even have the needle pricks to prove it.”

Starscream had already occupied himself with turning it over again, examining it with an expression Alexis couldn’t quite read. That didn’t seem like a good sign.

“Oh.” She couldn’t quite keep the dismay from her voice. “Don’t you like it?”

He startled slightly in response. “N-no! I wouldn’t say that. I mean, it’s very…” He turned it over again, fumbling for the words. “Colorful?” He looked away slightly, something Alexis had seen him do with the other ‘bots from time-to-time, and his voice trailed until he was practically mumbling. “It’s just that I’ve never had anyone…give me a present before.”

A surprised sound rang out from the other kids. “You can’t be serious!” Carlos cried. “What about on your birthday? You never got nothin’?”

If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn she saw him flinch. “Uhhh…” He stalled, not really sure which part to address first. Finally, he settled on the practical side of things. “So what does one…do in a situation like this?”

Alexis blinked in surprise. Huh. She never thought she’d be on this end of that question. Still, better to answer before he decided he’d said something wrong. “Why don’t you try saying thank you?” she offered.

“Thank you,” he said, trying the words out. “ _Thank you_ ,” he repeated, emotion seeping through and making his voice raspier than usual. He caught himself and adjusted, toning it back before he looked back at her, optics wide and uncertain. “Right?”

“Yeah!” she beamed. His head lowered slightly, like it was somehow shocking he’d gotten it right.

The others either didn’t notice or had a different idea of how they should react. “So, hey, give us the scoop on Mars, dude!”

Rad smiled, making his way over with the others. “Yeah, we want to hear all about it.”

“Does anything grow up there that you can eat without croaking on the spot? Are there any weird aliens?” Fred interjected.

“Yeah, _are_ there any aliens on the Red Planet?” Billy echoed.

Alexis recognized that expression. Honestly, she half expected him to leave right there. He really wasn’t used to that kind of thing, was he?

But to her surprise, he knelt down closer to their level. “Well, kids…”

“Hey! There you are, Starscream.” Everyone jumped as Jetfire seemed to materialize from out of nowhere, speaking just a little _too_ enthusiastically. “Just finished my shift on surveillance, so you’re up.”

Starscream stared after him for a moment, like there was something he couldn’t quite work out. Finally, he sighed. “I’ll never get used to the Autobots’ work ethic.”

Carlos slumped. “Well, I guess you better get going.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, simultaneously long-suffering and placating. “If I don’t do it, someone else will take care of it. No big deal.”

Alexis bit her lip. On one hand, it wasn’t like he showed any interest in talking to the others that often. It would’ve been like shutting her down when she’d first started to get along with Carlos. On the other hand…

“You cannot be serious.” The words were out of her mouth before she had time to regret them.

“What?” _Aren’t you the one who’s always wanting to chat?_

“Well, I mean, the Autobots are always a whole team together, right? So if everyone thought someone else would do it, nothing at all would get done around here,” she tried to explain. “It’s not like I don’t want to hear about it, but we’ll still be here when you get done and—”

He stood abruptly and turned to walk away, cutting off her train of thought.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?” Carlos called after him.

He paused. “To get a little peace and quiet,” he quipped, then turned back and left.

Maybe she should’ve led with the fact that they wanted him to stay, _then_ followed with the rest of it? In hindsight, that seemed like it would have been better. Though somewhere in there she’d still noticed…he’d taken the chamois with him.

* * *

 

He’d said he was going to get some peace and quiet, yet he found himself marching straight to the control room. Well, it wasn’t like he had a lot of other options. If he went back to his own room, he’d have to pass Jetfire, who’d no doubt send him back here anyway. He could probably get to the training room without incident (it wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before). But seeing as he had already trained quite a bit that day, he didn’t really want to hear one of Red Alert’s lectures on not overdoing it. Not that it was the same as if he’d wrecked his arm again, but the medic would lecture him all the same.

Besides, the control room was quiet and dark. It wasn’t like he couldn’t get any peace and quiet there. No reason to go through the trouble of finding someone else to take over for him if he could do both at once. Not that he expected anyone else to agree to it even if he’d asked.

Belatedly, he realized he was still holding the children’s gift. A chamois, had Alexis called it? He huffed as he went to set it down. “All this teamwork talk is making me go soft.” It wasn’t like their alliance was going to be anything permanent, as much as Prime and the medic tried to pretend otherwise. _What, is there really any part of you that wants it to be?_

But before he could think too much on it, a sharp beeping shook him out of his reverie. “What is that?” It wasn’t a normal signal. He’d been on monitor duty enough times to know that much. Maybe it was just a glitch.

The Mini-Cons noticed it, too. Jetstorm cried out first, Sonar and Runway joining him. It really wasn’t just a glitch, was it? But that signal wasn’t widely used last time he checked. Should he alert the other Auto—the Autobots? But if it _did_ turn out to be nothing, he didn’t really want to hear a lecture on how not everything was Megatron—not that that signal _would_ have been Megatron.

He shook his head, running a quick reboot. It would be fine. He’d just survey the area and come back. If anyone said anything, he’d point out that technically, he _was_ still doing surveillance. Just manually. It probably wouldn’t _work_ , of course, but it was what he was going to say all the same.

Jetstorm beeped out a question, one that made Starscream tense up and then fight to keep it down. “No, you and the others should stay in here. I’ll come right back.” _But why keep them inside if you expect it to be nothing?_

As soon as he was clear of the base, Starscream transformed. It was a little rougher than he was used to—Red Alert had told him to expect that for awhile—but he took off within seconds.

His speed hadn’t been affected by the damages and repair. That much was good. He wasn’t sure if he would have been able to build it back up on this planet. Even with the simulation programs in the training room, it wouldn’t have been the same as flying on Cybertron.

When he reached the area the signal had come from, he transformed back to his standard mode, crouching low in case of an ambush. _Someone’s watching._

No sooner had he thought that then the air behind two trees rippled, and his former tactician materialized. _Slag!_

“Long time, no see, Starscream,” he greeted cordially. “I must admit, I’m almost surprised you haven’t forgotten our little signal. So tell me, what’s it like being a traitor?”

Starscream swung at him almost before he registered what he was doing. Thrust simply dematerialized before it could connect. _Stupid_. He could reappear anywhere, and the seeker knew better than to assume he wouldn’t target his injuries. They'd mostly healed up, but he wasn't taking any chances. “You sniveling coward! Show yourself and fight!”

Thrust wouldn’t take that kind of insult. Sure enough, he rematerialized a few feet away, but he kept himself hidden behind the trees. “Please, forgive my rudeness. I don’t know what came over me.” Like he meant a word of that.

 _Slagging pretentious Vosnian_. Starscream drew his sword and lunged in the direction he’d heard his voice coming from. But Thrust had vanished once more. “I’ve had enough of your games!”

Suddenly, the air in front of him rippled, and he took two fast steps back to give himself room to dodge or swing.

“Game?” Thrust’s voice lifted in question. “Oh, no game, Starscream. I must confess I, too, have become disheartened by Megatron’s leadership. I agree with you that Megatron has failed to prove himself as a leader.” His voice took on a sinister edge as he leaned closer. “So join with me, and together we can bring Megatron down!”

The proximity forced Starscream to take a step back. There was no way Thrust would offer such a thing. His position had been too comfortable as Megatron’s tactician. He’d heard what they had said before—this had to be some kind of trick! “No deal, Thrust!”

He shifted his grip to prepare a swing, but before he could, a servo latched tight around his wrist and the tactician hissed out, “You really think you can defeat Megatron with the help of the Autobots? You’re not an idiot, boy, use your head!”

Slag, he’d been a fool to come out here alone. Starscream wrenched his wrist free from Thrust’s grip, preparing to take his sword and—Yet something stopped him. Why didn’t he just finish it?

The tactician merely turned his wrist over and popped the digits in the hand that had grabbed him as if they were just having a casual conversation. Any other time, he would have had to laugh at the irony. “I’ll start with a simpler question,” he began, suddenly civil once more. “Have you considered returning to your comrades?”

It almost felt strange to hear the Decepticons referred to as comrades. When had they ever been “comrades?” The very word was like a bug in his processor, one he couldn’t quite identify and delete. “Back to the lunar base?” He barely recognized his own voice.

“Hm, you _are_ catching on. And furthermore, may I suggest your chances of overthrowing Megatron are greater from within?”

Well, _that_ was just a load of scrap. “Hah,” he snorted, but looked away all the same. “Only a fool with a death wish would return to Megatron, and _I_ , for one, am not a fool.”

No time for a swing. He stabbed forward, but Thrust had anticipated it all the same. Why couldn’t he land a hit?

“Oh, ho…” Thrust pretended to consider. “Yes, there is the matter of your betrayal to consider. So why don’t you appease him with some Autobot trinket? Perhaps, say…the Skyboom Shield?”

Starscream whipped around just as Thrust materialized, holding his sword inches from the tactician’s face. He eyed it like some mildly interesting insect. _Slag_. _Slag_! Where were the others? Didn’t Thrust prefer an ambush? Yet _somehow_ he managed to shake himself out of it, and he growled and finished the strike. Those Mini-Cons were _not_ trinkets.

He turned, trying to anticipate where Thrust would appear next, who else might be hiding out. But it seemed the tactician had tired of this game. He heard him transforming above him and prepared to follow, but Thrust merely laughed. “Well, it was only a suggestion, after all. Of course, I don’t expect you to have an answer right away. Just take your time. Whenever you’ve got your answer, you know how to find me.”

And with that, he was gone. Only then did Starscream realize the pressure on his intake systems. He winced as they shuddered back into place, and then continued to rattle for what felt like hours. Slag. This was bad. Why hadn’t he called the others?

The sky wasn’t safe, not with the conehead so recently gone. But a quick pass through the sky would help him regulate even so. He’d just take one round, then return to base. No one had to know, right? And technically, it _was_ still manual surveillance…

* * *

 

As soon as he was safely out of range, Thrust dropped back into the forest. “I’m impressed,” a voice behind him stated. “I gotta admit, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Thrust stood and smirked beneath his mask. “You don’t become a master tactician without learning a thing or two.” It was all he would give this renegade.

“But seriously, you think he’s really convinced that joining forces with you is his best option?” Sideways folded his arms. “He really think he’s going to beat Megatron that way?”

Oh, he wouldn’t let him play that game again. At this point, there were pieces of the plan that no longer mattered. But did Sideways really need to know that? “Hm, who knows?” he chuckled. “All that really matters is this: we _will_ have the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield.”

“Well, then,” Sideways mock-tipped his helm. “I’ll look forward to the show.”

“Yes, I’m sure you will…”


	3. Chapter 3

Back at the base, Hot Shot and Jetfire stood before the _Axalon_. “Well,” the shuttle breathed. “I guess that just about does it.”

“You gonna get weepy on me, bud?” Hot Shot nudged him, borrowing an expression he’d heard from the kids.

“What?” Jetfire turned to him, looking like he’d just suggested they go joyriding in a parking garage.

Hot Shot rubbed the back of his neck. Right. Of course he hadn’t heard that one. “Heh…nothing. I said she looks nice.”

“You’re a slagging liar,” Jetfire retorted, barely hiding his amusement.

So of course, Fred and Billy would pick that moment to run in screaming about an emergency. Hot Shot’s first thought was, _Oh, slag, something happened in the control room_ , even as Fred sputtered out something about a cone-headed Decepticon outside the base.

Blurr caught on faster. “You mean Thrust?”

Scrap, had Starscream run outside thinking it was Megatron? Why didn’t he radio an alert? Something must’ve been wrong! “C’mon, Sideswipe!” he called out. “Let’s go get ‘em!”

The younger ‘bot grabbed a pipe he’d left in the building supplies. “Right behind you, bro!”

“Hold on a second!” Fred waved his hands around. “That’s not all! Starscream chased him off!” _Well, why didn’t you start with that?_ “Starscream is my hero!” he beamed as he clasped his hands.

Hot Shot couldn’t help the first thing he blurted out. “You are one twisted kid.”

Billy huffed and crossed his arms. “What’s wrong with a kid having a hero, huh?”

Well, this must be what they meant by swallowing a scraplet. Luckily, Jetfire jumped in to save him. “Nothin’ wrong with _having_ one,” he quipped. “But you know what they say about meetin’ your heroes…”

And of course, said hero picked that moment to come through the door. If Hot Shot didn’t know any better, he’d have thought he looked outright shaken. Had it been a bad fight?

“Hey! Starscream!” Jetfire greeted him. “We were just talking about you!”

Oy, would it kill him to dial it back just a little? The seeker winced in response. “All good things, I hope.” His tone made it clear just how much he believed it would be.

“Hey, don’t play dumb with us. The kids here were just telling us how you drove off Thrust. Way to cover our skidplates, bud!” Blurr’s tone wasn’t the best, and to be honest, Hot Shot had never been sure whether he should try to explain that was just how Blurr talked. At least, as far as he understood.

Starscream gawked, like he wasn’t sure what to make of the thanks either. As he stood fumbling for a reply, Hoist came skidding to a stop.

“Hoist!” several of the Autobots cried out. “What’s the matter?”

“I’ve been looking all over for the Shield Mini-Cons! I can’t find them anywhere!” There weren’t a lot of things that could get Hoist unsettled, but after losing the Requiem Blaster as Smokescreen, those little guys had come to mean a lot to him.

“ _What?_ ” It took a full three seconds for Hot Shot to realize the sound had come from Starscream.

Fred piped in again. “Uh…hey, that reminds me, Starscream—didn’t that Thrust guy ask you to bring him the Skyboom Shield?”

“Yeah,” Billy nodded. “What was up with that?”

“What?” Jetfire hissed. “Did you report it to Optimus?”

Hoist wheeled around, near frantic. “Did he have them when he left? Did you see? Did you try to stop him from taking them?”

Starscream faltered and took a step back. “N-no! He asked—why would he have if he had—that’s ridiculous!”

“But you saw him outside the base earlier. And you were _talking_?” This time, Blurr’s harsh tone wasn’t an accident.

“Slag, I shouldn’t have let them out of my sight!” Hoist moaned.

Hot Shot could see where this was going as he and Jetfire shared a quick, serious glance, and he saw the pleading look in the second’s eyes. _I’m no good with Starscream, you gotta take this_ , he was practically begging. Like Hot Shot was that much better an option!

“Now hold on a second!” he shouted over the commotion. “I know it looks bad, but we can’t just go jumping to conclusions!” _Why couldn’t he have just filed a report instead of trying to go after him?_ But he couldn’t let himself think like that. “Starscream hasn’t been on our side very long, but I mean, he’s done okay enough in the time he _has_ been, right? A-and—” Scrap. What else? “What about innocent until proven guilty?!”

Everyone stared, tensions frozen but not eased in the slightest. _C’mon, someone, throw me a rescue line…_ He rushed over to Starscream, reaching for his arm and registering that something was _very wrong_ when he didn’t pull away. Scrap, he barely even flinched, which should’ve been _good_ , but in this case, it was like he didn’t even notice it.

“C’mon, Starscream, help me out,” the young Autobot hissed. “You gotta explain what’s going on here, ‘cause lemme tell you, it’s not lookin’ too good from where we’re standing. You know what I’m saying?”

“Yeah…I think I do.” Hot Shot almost dropped his arm at the listless tone. “It doesn’t much matter what I say, because you’ve already convicted me. But thanks for trying, Hot Shot.”

“No…” Hot Shot sputtered. “No, slag, that’s not what…it was just a slip up, I didn’t mean…” _Scrap,_ why didn’t he think before trying to talk like that? Of _course_ Starscream wouldn’t get it in this moment.

“Please, let’s face facts.” The seeker turned and removed his hand from his arm. “I’m much different than you.” His listlessness didn’t go away, but his voice took on an almost placating edge. “I was programmed as a Decepticon, and I don’t apologize for that. I’ve tried my best to understand you Autobots, and it’s been an interesting experiment. But I have to admit it’s failed.”

“ _No!_ ” Hot Shot insisted. “That’s not true! No one’s saying you did—” The seeker started to turn away, and Hot Shot grabbed on with both hands, turning him back to face him and keeping a hold on his arms even as he stiffened in his grip. “Last month!” Hot Shot grasped for what Optimus had said before. “If this had happened last month! How would it have happened then?”

Starscream stopped struggling at that. “ _What?_ ”

“What’s all this ruckus?” Optimus Prime came running. Starscream tried to pull away, but Hot Shot maintained his grip. Optimus would be able to help sort things out. He couldn’t let him run off just as help arrived.

He took a breath and started to speak, but Hoist beat him to it. “The Skyboom Shield Mini-Cons are missing, sir.”

“And the kids saw Thrust outside of our base. He was insisting Starscream hand over the Skyboom Shield!” Sideswipe rattled, too shaken to slow himself down. “That’s the story so far, and Starscream’s not saying anything!”

Optimus took a breath and cleared his vents. “All right,” he spoke evenly. “We’re not going to get to the bottom of this by panicking. Hot Shot,” he turned to them. “Will you let go of Starscream?”

The young Autobot complied. Hopefully, Optimus understood it had been for the best at the time.

“Now, Starscream. Can you explain to me what happened—”

The alarm blared over him, cutting him off. “Of all times…” he muttered. “Autobots, roll out! Keep your eyes open in case the shield turns up!”

The rest of the Autobots filed after him, rushing to their launch positions. Only Hot Shot and Starscream stood back, the latter transfixed by the screen, like he was looking for something he couldn’t quite find.

“Hey,” Hot Shot called back. “Don’t worry. We’ll work it out.” He only hoped he could make himself believe that.

As he ran out after them, he thought he heard something from the former Decepticon, but he didn’t piece it together until after he’d already joined the others on the battlefield.

“ _There’s something wrong with their formation_.”


	4. Chapter 4

As the Autobots rushed in, Cyclonus swooped and sprayed the group with laser fire, only to be intercepted when Jetfire met him. The shuttle swiftly dispatched the wild Decepticon, and he screeched as he plummeted to the ground. Idiot.

Demolisher moved to take his place, but like any flier would do, Jetfire ignored him in favor of climbing higher and engaging Tidal Wave. Really, it was a miracle the war had lasted so long. The warship gave a low growl and fired back, forcing him into a defensive position.

There wasn’t much to worry about. Unless Jetfire managed a retreat, there was nothing the Autobots could do.

Thrust observed all this from the safety of the cloud cover. Of course, none of them would realize there was so much more to this. No one, of course, except the one he intended to meet.

“Thrust! Show yourself!” Ah, yes. Right on schedule.

He materialized himself above the clouds, maintaining a reasonable distance. “You rang?”

Starscream only glared in response. Hm. There was just no pleasing some people. “Then can I assume you made your decision?” Thrust continued.

“I have,” he replied. “I think I’ll stay here, with ‘bots I can trust.”

Oh, ho. He certainly didn’t miss the triumphant smirk that crept in as he spoke. Had he really expected that to unsettle him? Admittedly, it was a bit of a setback. Things would be so much simpler if he would just agree with him for once. “How disappointing. Well, I suppose that’s all I could have expected. Without someone there to tell you what to think, of course you would simply stay put.”

“What?” Of course, it was a gamble. There was a good chance Starscream would simply call him on this. But with any luck…

“Listen, Starscream. Do you think I don’t understand your desire for revenge against Megatron? Or the trouble you’ve had in getting that on your own?”

Starscream scoffed. “You don’t understand anything about me, Thrust. I’ll get my revenge against Megatron because I have the tools to get the job done, not because _you_ were holding my hand.” His scowl deepened into a snarl. “Now get out of my way before I slice you in half, you pathetic snake!”

Well, let it never be said Thrust wasn’t one to take a compliment. He sighed, “Starscream, be reasonable. I, too, am a warrior on a mission.” Well, a tactician anyway, but perhaps it would go better if he didn’t remind him of that fact. Sometimes, you had to concede some things in order to reach someone. “And much like you, Megatron is the only thing standing in my way. I’m sure you have your reservations, but even you must admit there is strength in numbers. You only benefit from this alliance. So why resist, hm?” He could see him stiffening in response. Such turmoil. But he could drive that spike in further. “What are you so afraid of?”

* * *

Below, Hot Shot weaved and dodged as Tidal Wave barraged everyone. Why’d they even bring the other guys when this one could keep everyone at once?

He saw Optimus and Jetfire leap into the sky, combining to form Jet Optimus. "It's time to sink you for good, Tidal Wave!" Almost immediately, they aimed for Tidal Wave and shot, hitting one of his stabilizers and sending him plummeting into the rocks below.

A cloud of dust kicked up as he transformed and Hot Shot grimaced. That wasn’t good. Even grounded, Tidal Wave still had the advantage in big areas with low visibility.

He’d have to act fast! Silently, he and Jolt linked together. He shot and hit him square in the face.

“All, right! That’s a bull’s-eye!” he crowed, hoping to attract his attention.

It did. Unfortunately, the shot did little more than annoy the warship. He turned and fired. Jolt separated and dove for the nearby forest. “Good thinking, Jolt! _Transform_!” If he could get him into the forest—hopefully before he blew out a tire—the tighter space would eliminate his advantage.

“You think you can take me here, Tidal Wave!” he shouted back. He needed to keep his attention so he wouldn’t just give up and go after the others.

He heard him growling as he transformed and dove under a thick patch of foliage. Now he just needed to reorient himself and come up with a plan.

Hot Shot spun around at the sound he heard behind him. _How’d he get behind me?_ he thought. But that wasn’t right. It sounded like…breathing?

“Hot Shot! _Hot Shot!_ ” Carlos yelled. He sounded panicked.

“Ssh! Keep it down. Tidal Wave’s nearby,” he hissed. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Sideways,” Alexis breathed out, stumbling and slumping over as she coughed and tried to catch her breath. “It was Sideways.”

“We’d decided to take the Mini-Cons out for a walk.” Rad didn’t sound much better as he leaned against a tree for support. “We know we should’ve told someone but we thought…”

“That creep Sideways found us! We only got away because Downshift and the others pushed us into a bush before he saw!” Carlos was still running on adrenaline, but the second it wore off, he was going to drop.

It took Hot Shot a second to process what he’d heard. Surely, it couldn’t have been what he thought they just said, because if it was…

“Slag, this is bad!” He felt his intakes stall. “You kids stay here and keep outta sight. I gotta go warn the others! _Transform!_ ”

He sped out of the forest, transforming back in mid-air as he dove down to crouch beside Hoist.

“Oh, man, oh man, oh man…” He kept muttering to himself. “If anything happens to those guys…”

“Bad news, Hoist.” Scrap, it really sucked that he had to say this. “Sideways is back. He’s the one who took the Shield Minicons.”

“What? Sideways?” he looked stricken. “Then Starscream had nothing to do with this after all. But then where is…?”

The two of them locked optics for a split second before it clicked. “Slag! He’s gonna—!”

* * *

 

“Hm, hm…” Thrust chuckled, able to guess what was going on even if he couldn’t hear the exchange. “Seems like they’re just putting it together. And where do you suppose that will leave you, Starscream?”

“What do you mean, where—?” He could see the moment when it clicked into place, and the traitor rounded on him with a snarl. “Thrust, what have you done!”

The tactician held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I don’t see why you’re angry with me. _I_ haven’t done _anything_.” Not directly, anyway.

And here was the real gamble. “You shut up!” Starscream swung at him with the Star Saber. This time, Thrust refused to move out of the way. Just as he expected, at the last second, Starscream missed.

“You know,” Thrust offered. “You could cut me down much more easily if you let go of that little toy of yours.” Starscream glanced at the cloth in his hand like he hadn’t realized he’d brought it. Oh. That was interesting. “Or is there another reason you missed?”

“That’s enough! Stop yammering!” He swung and missed again. He was shaking now, intakes audibly stalling and shuddering. “Why?” he stammered, more to himself than anything. “Why can’t I—destroy him?”

“Oh, I’m sure there are many reasons,” Thrust continued. “Perhaps you’ve gone soft and forgotten your heritage. Or perhaps it’s something much simpler than that.”

Starscream readied himself to take another swing. He wouldn’t hit. Thrust was sure of that by now. “After all, you know you’re the one who’s in the wrong here.”

That stopped him. “What?”

“That’s right.” Thrust folded his arms. “You betrayed Megatron and joined the Autobots. You cast aside decades--at least--of training and hospitality all in a fit of pique, simply because you didn’t like the strategy of a mission.”

“Hospitality?” he rasped out. “Don’t even joke!”

“If it wasn’t hospitality, then what was it?” He wouldn’t be able to answer that. _Game_.

Sure enough, that wasn’t what he focused on. “If that makes me a traitor, th-then what were _you_ suggesting before? You said you wanted to overthrow—!”

“Did I?” Thrust feigned surprise. “Starscream, be reasonable. _I_ am Megatron’s chief tactician and now right-hand man. What could I _possibly_ gain by betraying him?” _Set_.

“ _Shut up!_ You said—! Th-that’s not—!”

“Do you think perhaps you’re projecting things a little? After all, the guilt of betrayal can’t be easy to live with.” Thrust tossed out the suggestion like it was only logical. Of course, he could easily call his bluff if he wanted. But he wouldn’t. Not now.

“ _You shut up!_ ” This time, he swung and Thrust took a step back. A shot screamed through the air, shooting up from below the clouds, and connected with his extended servos.  _Not a second too soon,_ Thrust thought.

The force of Tidal Wave’s shot combined with the shock of the unexpected attack knocked the saber from Starscream’s grip. Thrust dove after it before he could react. _And match_.

“Thank you ever so much for this, Starscream.” The tactician bowed amiably. “I’ll take my leave and give you some time to think about what I said. Oh, and do get in touch with me if you ever find your answer.”

And with that, he signaled the other Decepticons to retreat. Hm. Maybe he could depend on himself and Tidal Wave after all.

* * *

 

“Optimus! _Optimus!_ ” Hot Shot comm’ed him frantically.

“What is it Hot Shot?”

“Sideways is back and he’s got the Skyboom Shield! Nobody down here has seen Thrust, either!”

From their powerlinked form, Jetfire almost heard his leader’s thoughts as he put it together. How could he have missed it? “They’ll be targeting the Star Saber next...Where is Starscream? We have to get him back to base—”

There was a crackling sound, and then Hoist’s voice rang out over the link. “He’s gonna try and go after Thrust! He’s gonna try to get it back to prove he didn’t take them!”

“No…” Optimus gasped. “But that’s suicide! Without the Skyboom Shield, the Star Saber is his only shot at blocking the Requiem Blaster!”

Jetfire shifted his consciousness within their transformation. Optimus released the link and they separated.

“Optimus, let me go after him,” he said. No jokes, no quips. He needed to go _now_. “I’m the only one who can get there fast enough.”

His leader nodded. “Do it. Retrieve Starscream and come back to base. Do not attempt to retake the Skyboom Shield.”

“But Optimus—!” Hot Shot and Hoist protested through the link.

“ _That’s an order_ ,” Optimus barked out over them. Even Jetfire nearly jumped at his tone.

With barely a grunt of acknowledgment, Jetfire leapt into the air and took off.

* * *

 

It wasn’t long before Jetfire found Starscream. Either something had stalled him before, or Jetfire had some serious miscalculations about his own max speed.

But the seeker climbed higher into the atmosphere, and Jetfire wasn’t about to gamble on his being suddenly faster. “Starscream! Stand down! It’s too dangerous!” he called out.

“ _No_!” The seeker’s voice was nearly ragged. “They’ve got them! Sonar, Runway, and Jetstorm! I can’t let him—!”

 _Slag_ , it was worse than he’d thought. So he’d already gone after them and lost the sword too. “In that case, you _really_ can’t go after them now! You’ve got no defense if you’re fired on!”

Starscream only grunted in response, putting on an extra burst of speed. Jetfire commanded his thrusters to go to max, already feeling the strain it put on him.

He could keep that distance for a bit, close the gap little by little, but it wouldn’t be enough. Even if he _could_ maintain this for long periods without damaging his systems, it still wouldn’t stop Starscream from flying straight into a death trap.

 _C’mon, second, think_ , he racked his memory for anything. The only option wasn’t pretty. But if it kept him from killing himself to get to the Mini-Cons…

Jetfire ordered his weapons online, locking his targeting grid on the flap of the seeker’s right wing. If he could take away his flight control for a bit... His engines screamed from the effort of keeping up.

“Real sorry about this, pal…” He grimaced internally as he fired the shot. It would hurt like the Pit, but it wouldn’t take him offline.

Starscream yelped as the three laser blasts connected, the impact and sudden pain in his wing flap ruining his ability to steer and sending him spiraling. He’d be able to right it himself in time, but right now, he'd need it faster than that. He transformed, twisting in the air to adjust. In seconds, he’d transform back and be off.

But that was all the time Jetfire needed. With one last terrible screech of his thrusters, he shot himself into the seeker’s path and transformed, catching him just as he prepared to shift into jet mode.

“ _Let go of me!_ ” he screamed, struggling violently against the second’s grip. “ _Let go of me! I have to—!”_

“ _If you go after them now, it’s nothing but_ death _for you!_ ” Jetfire growled back, bracing hard against his efforts to free himself. He couldn’t give him room to transform. “You have nothing to defend yourself, no plan, you haven’t even told the Autobots where you’re going, let alone signaled for _backup_. If you go up there, I guarantee you, Megatron _will_ have the Requiem Blaster, and he _will_ kill you.”

Starscream had started to reach for his wing-sword, and Jetfire adjusted to lock him to where he couldn’t get to it. “You think I _don’t know that_? There’s _no time_! I have to get to them _now_ before—!”

“Before _what_?” Jetfire answered. Slag, he knew this situation better than most would give him credit for. “Look around you, Starscream. They’re already gone. They’ve got the advantage of numbers. They’ve got the weapons. They know you’re going to be desperate, and they’ll be _counting_ on it!”

Starscream had stopped struggling, but Jetfire was a fool if he thought that meant he’d given up.

“Come back to the base,” he continued. “I know where I shot you up, and I’m not dumb enough to think that’s the only injury you got. You can come willingly, or I can drag you back like this.” It probably wasn’t a good idea to mention they’d probably get shot in the back on the way down if he had to go with this option. “But I’m not letting you offline yourself today.”

“Because the Mini-Cons don’t matter anymore?” He was reaching for anything, clinging to the border between desperation and despondence. “Our priority is to rescue the Mini-Cons. You Autobots keep saying that. You _always want me_ to focus more on that. So _why won’t you let me do it_?” his voice cracked and he gave a desperate snarl as he struggled weakly to break the shuttle’s hold.

“It is,” Jetfire assured him, struggling to keep his voice from betraying his own cold fear. “It _is_ a priority. But it doesn’t do them any good if we get slagged before we even get to them. We’re not abandoning them. We’ll regroup, and we’ll make a plan to take them back. We’ve beaten some tough odds before, and we’ll figure this one out too. As a team. Back at the base.” _Where Megatron won’t vaporize us while we’re talking._

“It’s not going to be that simple.”

“So what else is new? We’ll figure something out,” Jetfire shrugged, his hold making the motion awkward, as if it could somehow make the both of them believe it. “C’mon. Let’s get back to the base.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably one of the trickier works to write that I've done so far, in part because I needed to figure out what to adjust in order to have things work with the way I've shifted the timeline three inches to the right for this, deciding whose POV to use in each section, how their voice should sound, and the adjustments needed to make certain moments work the way I need them to. 
> 
> In any event, please let me know what you think!  
> ~Rin


End file.
